protect children not guns 2012

PROTECT CHILDRENNOT GUNS 2012

THIS REPORT IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF TRAYVON MARTIN

AND THE THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS

KILLED BY GUNS EACH YEAR IN AMERICA.

Children’s Defense Fund

© 2012 Children’s Defense Fund. All rights reserved.

T he Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child aHealthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful

passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.

CDF provides a strong, effective and independent voice for all the children of America who cannotvote, lobby or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minoritychildren and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children andencourages preventive investments before they get sick, drop out of school, get into trouble or suffer family breakdown.

CDF began in 1973 and is a private, nonprofit public charity supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations.

Mission Statement

Table of Contents

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Stand Up and Take Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Child and Teen Gun Deaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Child and Teen Gun Injuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Guns in Cities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Mayors Against Illegal Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Mass Shootings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

State Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

State Policy Hall of Shame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

International Gun Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Debunking the Myths About Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Selected Organizations Working to Prevent Gun Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

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2 n Children’s Defense Fund

Overview5,740 Children and Teens were Killed by Guns in 2008 and 2009

Protect Children, Not Guns 2012 analyzes the latest fatal and nonfatal firearm injury data from theU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2008 and 2009 for children and teens ages 0-19.1

Gun Deaths

In 2008, 2,947 children and teens died from guns in the United States and 2,793 died in 2009 for a total of 5,740—one child or teen every three hours, eight every day, 55 every week for two years.

n The 5,740 children and teens killed by guns in 2008 and 2009:• Would fill more than 229 public school classrooms of 25 students each;• Was greater than the number of U.S. military personnel killed in action in Iraq andAfghanistan (5,013).2

n The number of preschoolers killed by guns in 2008 (88) and in 2009 (85) was nearly double thenumber of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2008 (41) and 2009 (48).

n Black children and teens accounted for 45 percent of all child and teen gun deaths in 2008and 2009 but were only 15 percent of the total child population.

n Black males 15-19 were eight times as likely as White males of the same age and two-and-a-half times as likely as their Hispanic peers to be killed in a gun homicide in 2009.

n The leading cause of death among Black teens ages 15 to 19 in 2008 and 2009 was gunhomicide. For White teens 15 to 19 it was motor vehicle accidents followed by gun homicidein 2008 and gun suicide in 2009.

n The most recent analysis of data from 23 industrialized nations shows that 87 percent of thechildren under age 15 killed by guns in these nations lived in the United States. The gunhomicide rate in the United States for teens and young adults ages 15 to 24 was 42.7 timeshigher than the combined rate for the other nations.

n Of the 116,385 children and teens killed by a gun since 1979, when gun data by age were first collected, 44,038 were Black—nearly 13 times more than the number of recorded lynchingsof Black people of all ages in the 86 years from 1882 to 1968. Even so, more White thanBlack children and teens have died from gun violence.

2008

2,947 total firearm fatalities 2,037 homicide 748 suicide162 accidental or undetermined

2,577 boys370 girls

2,571 between ages 15-19408 under age 15148 under age 1088 under age 5

1,488 White1,371 Black563 Hispanic*46 American Indian or Alaska Native42 Asian or Pacific Islander

2009

2,793 total firearm fatalities 1,855 homicide 800 suicide138 accidental or undetermined

2,434 boys359 girls

2,439 between ages15-19354 under age 15151 under age 1085 under age 5

1,515 White1,211 Black566 Hispanic*40 American Indian or Alaska Native27 Asian or Pacific Islander

* Persons of Hispanic origin can be of any race; the 563 deaths in 2008 and the 566 deaths in 2009 are included in thefour race categories.

Protect Children, Not Guns 2012 n 3

34,387 Children and Teens were Injured by Guns in 2008 and 2009

Gun Injuries

Six times as many children and teens—34,387—suffered nonfatal gun injuries as gun deaths in 2008and 2009. This is equal to one child or teen every 31 minutes, 47 every day, and 331 children andteens every week.

n The 34,387 children and teens injured by guns in 2008 and 2009:• Would fill more than 1,375 public school classrooms of 25 students each;• Was more than the number of U.S. military personnel wounded in action in Iraq (32,223) and more than double the number wounded in action in Afghanistan (15,438).3

n The rate of gun injuries was 10 times higher among Black children and teens than it wasamong White children and teens. In 2009, the gun injury rate was 51.1 per 100,000 forBlack children and teens; for White children and teens it was 5.0 per 100,000.

n Boys are far more likely to be injured in gun assaults or accidents than girls; girls are far more likely to be injured in gun suicide attempts than boys.

2008

20,596 total nonfatal firearm injuries16,187 assault3,998 accidental 411 self-harm

19,253 boys1,343 girls

18,819 between ages 15-191,777 under age 15607 under age 10238 under age 5

4,085 White, non-Hispanic8,441 Black, non-Hispanic5,099 Hispanic**2,391 race not stated579 Other non-Hispanic

2009

13,791 total nonfatal firearm injuries 10,038 assault3,588 accidental 165 self-harm

11,928 boys1,862 girls

12,932 between ages 15-19858 under age 15240 under age 10149 under age 5

2,369 White, non-Hispanic7,102 Black, non-Hispanic2,546 Hispanic**1,587 race not stated186 Other non-Hispanic

**The firearm injury data separates Hispanic ethnicity from the other race categories so there is no duplication in the overallinjury data.

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2008-2009. “Fatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-based Injury StatisticsQuery andReporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.

2 U.S. military personnel killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan as of March 5, 2012.3 U.S. military personnel wounded in action in Iraq and Afghanistan as of March 5, 2012.


Foreword

We dedicate this 12th child gun death report to the memory of Trayvon Martin and the thousands ofchildren and teenagers killed by guns each year in America. As we publish on March 23, 2012,

thousands of people across the country have poured into the streets—from New York to Sanford, Florida—to demand justice for Trayvon. Hundreds of thousands more stepped up to protest online. In responseto the public outcry, the Sanford Chief of Police has temporarily stepped down and the state prosecutorhas stepped aside. But nearly one month after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was stopped, stalked, shotand killed while walking home from a convenience store, armed only with a bag of Skittles and a can oficed tea, his killer, George Zimmerman, has not been arrested.

The public outrage over Trayvon’s tragic death is right and just and we hope it will be sustained untiljustice is done. But where is the outrage over every single one of the thousands of children and teenskilled by guns every year in our nation—too many killed by gun-toting Americans unrestrained by commonsense gun control laws? Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, also known as the “shoot first, ask questionslater” law, is now under national scrutiny. But will it and other laws be changed to protect childrenrather than gun owners and gun sellers? What is it going to take to get the American public and leadersto stand up to protect the lives and safety of children first?

Next month, April 16th, marks the fifth anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre in which 32 studentsand faculty were killed by a gun, 25 others were injured, and many more were traumatized. Each year since then has seen shootings with multiple victims—young children, teenagers, young adults, a Member of Congress, a federal judge and many more. Days, weeks, months and years go by and little or nothing—except fleeting headlines, tears, trauma and talk—is done to protect children.

n A total of 5,740 children and teens died in 2008 and 2009, the two years after the VirginiaTech shooting, according to the most recent data from the federal Centers for Disease Control andPrevention. This is the equivalent of one child or teen being killed by a gun every three hours, or eight each day over those two years, or 229 public school classrooms with 25 students each.

n Gun homicide continued as the leading cause of death among Black teens 15 to 19. Whiteteens the same age were more likely to die from motor vehicle accidents, followed by gun homicide in 2008 and gun suicide in 2009.

n Black males 15 to 19 were eight times as likely as White males the same age and two-and-a-half-times as likely as their Hispanic peers to be gun homicide victims in 2009.

n Non-fatal gun injuries and the physical and emotional trauma that follows afflicted 34,387 children and teens over two years, 20,596 in 2008 and 13,791 in 2009.

n Taking a 30-year snapshot when child gun death and injury data collection began,116,385 childrenand teens were killed by firearms between 1979 and 2009—enough to fill 4,655 public schoolclassrooms of 25 students each. Since 1979, America has lost nearly three times as many childrenand teens to gunfire as the number of U.S. military personnel killed in action during the VietnamWar, and over 23 times the number of U.S. military personnel killed in action in Iraq andAfghanistan (5,013).

Where is our anti-war movement here at home? Why does a nation with the largest military budget in theworld refuse to protect its children from relentless gun violence and terrorism at home? No external enemyever killed thousands of children in their neighborhoods, streets and schools year in and year out.


By any standards of human and moral decency, children in America are under assault, and by internationalstandards, America remains an unparalleled world leader in gun deaths of children and teens—a distinctionwe shamefully and immorally choose! The most recent analysis of data from 23 high-income countriesreported that 87 percent of children under age 15 killed by guns in these nations lived in the UnitedStates. And the U.S. gun homicide rate for teens and young adults 15 to 24 was 42.7 times higherthan the combined gun homicide rate for that same age group in the other countries.

Why are common-sense gun regulations so shockingly absent in our country? Even in the wake of thetragedy in Tucson and the near-fatal shooting of one of their own, Congress failed to take action. Callsfor banning high-volume ammunition clips and tightening up the federal background check systemwere ignored. Instead, our leaders once again answered the call of gun owners and the powerful gunlobby over the rights of children and citizens to life and safety. In November 2011, the U.S. House ofRepresentatives passed the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act. If a similar bill is passed by theSenate and becomes law, a person with a permit to carry a concealed handgun in one state—a personlike George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida—could carry that concealed weapon in another state evenif it was against that second state’s law. Proponents of such ill-conceived gun trafficking laws maintainthe fiction that guns promote personal safety. It is long past time to acknowledge gun violence as thehugely serious threat to children, teens, and overall public health and safety.

Our leaders in Washington, D.C. are not alone in refusing to make America safer for children. Forty-twostates have adopted preemption laws to ensure that state legislatures have control of gun policy,impeding the ability of cities to develop local solutions to gun violence in their communities suggestingthat they know best although states continue to make decisions detrimental to children. In 2011,Kansas, Mississippi and Utah enacted laws allowing concealed weapon permit holders to carry loaded,concealed firearms in or on the grounds of elementary and secondary schools. With all eyes on Florida’s“Stand Your Ground” law, few noticed a law passed last year that, if upheld, threatens loss of a medicallicense for doctors who ask patients about whether a gun is in the home although it is not at all unusualand completely sensible for pediatricians particularly to ask patients and parents of patients about possible safety hazards in the home including guns.

We have so much work to do to build safe communities and a safe nation for our children. We needleaders at all levels of government who will protect children rather than guns and we need a relentless,powerful citizens’ voice to break the gun lobby’s veto on sane gun policy. Our laws must control whocan obtain firearms and close the gun show loophole, require consumer safety standards and childproofsafety features for all firearms, and strengthen child access prevention laws that ensure guns in thehome are stored safely and securely. We all must take action. We all must ask candidates this fall whatsteps they will take to protect children from guns.

We must remove guns from our homes where children so often find them and put themselves and othersin harm’s way. We must teach our children nonviolent ways to resolve conflicts and we must reject pervasiveviolence in our culture—on TV programs, songs, in movies, and on the internet. And we must engageour young people in purposeful activities that will keep them away from gangs, drugs, violence, and guns.

As a nation, we must step down from our role as world leader in child gun deaths and work together tomake America a moral leader in protecting children in the world which must begin with preventing andreducing gun deaths of children and teens and of all who reside here. Every child’s life is sacred and it islong past time that we protect it. The greatest national security threat in America comes from no enemywithout but from armed enemies within who lack regard for the sanctity of life for every vulnerable child.

Marian Wright Edelman


1. Parents, remove guns from your home.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates nearly two million children live in homes withloaded, unlocked guns.4 The presence of guns increases the risk of death. Most adolescent suicidesinvolve a gun owned by a parent.5 Parents may think they have adequately protected their children bysafely storing their guns, but this sense of security is often misplaced. A study by the Harvard InjuryControl Research Center found that 39 percent of children interviewed knew the location of their parents’ guns and 22 percent said they had handled the guns despite their parents’ reporting otherwise.6Children under 10 were just as likely to have reported knowing where the guns were kept and havinghandled them as older children. Research shows that it is not enough to talk to children about the dangers of guns. Children exposed to gun safety programs are no less likely to play with guns thanthose who are not exposed to such classes. Simply removing guns from the home is one of the bestways to protect children and teens from gun deaths.

2. Support common-sense gun safety measures for the nation.Stronger federal laws can help protect more children from gun violence by:

n Closing the gun show loophole. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act requires federally licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks on every sale. But a loopholein the law allows private dealers to sell guns without a license and avoid the requiredbackground checks. This loophole accounts for a large share of all gun sales, especiallyat gun shows. It is estimated that over 40 percent of all guns in this country are sold by unlicensed sellers to buyers who did not have to submit to a background check.7Eighteen states have attempted to block the loophole by requiring background checks for some categories of gun sales not covered by the Brady Law. Congress must requirecriminal background checks on anyone who attempts to purchase a gun.

n Reinstituting the ban on assault weapons. The federal Assault Weapons Ban, signed intolaw in 1994, banned the manufacture and sale of 19 types of semi-automatic militarystyle assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines that contained morethan 10 rounds of ammunition, but it expired in 2004. Legislation now pending inCongress, The Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act, H.R. 308 and S.32, wouldreinstitute the ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. These high capacity magazineswere used in the mass shootings in Tucson, Arizona and at Virginia Tech. Congress mustrestore the ban on both high-capacity assault clips and on assault weapons.

n Strengthening restrictions on people convicted of a violent misdemeanor or a violent actas a juvenile. Under current law, a conviction for a violent misdemeanor does not prohibita person from purchasing or possessing a gun. A related loophole exists for people

4 Catherine A. Okoro, et al. 2005. “Prevalence of household firearms and firearm-storage practice in the 50 states and the District ofColumbia: Findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2002.” Pediatrics, 116(3): e370-e376. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/116/3/e370 .

5 Renee Johnson, et al. 2010. “Who are the Owners of Firearms used in Adolescent Suicides?” Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 40(6):609–611.

6 Frances Baxley and Matthew Miller. 2006. “Parental Misconceptions about Children and Firearms.” Archives of Pediatrics and AdolescentMedicine, 160(5): 542-547. http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/160/5/542 .

7 Phillip J. Cook, PJ and Jens Ludwig. 1996. Guns in America: Results of a Comprehensive National Survey on Firearms Ownership and Use.Washington, DC: Police Foundation. See also Katrandjian, Olivia. 2011. New York Probe Finds 62 Percent of Private Gun Sellers Sell toProhibited Individuals. ABC News. December 14. http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=15154436

Stand Up and Take Action


adjudicated for violent offenses as juveniles. A study found that a person convicted of aviolent misdemeanor was eight times more likely to be charged with a subsequent gunand/or violent crime, and one in three people convicted of a violent misdemeanor whotried to buy a handgun was arrested for a new crime within three years of acquiring thegun.8 Congress must close these loopholes and prohibit gun possession by individualswho have been convicted of violent misdemeanors or have been found delinquent for violent acts.

� n Requiring consumer safety standards and childproof safety features for all guns. Everygun in this country should be childproof. One-third of all households with children haveat least one gun in the home.9 It is estimated that nearly two million children live inhomes with an unlocked and loaded gun.10 Federal law is silent on gun-related consumersafety standards and child access prevention. In fact, the production and manufacture ofguns is exempt from oversight by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. As a result,many handguns do not contain easily-installed life-saving safety features. Only 27 stateshave even attempted to keep children from accessing guns by passing child access prevention laws.11 Congress must subject guns to the same consumer product safety regulations that cover virtually every other consumer product. Congress must also requirechildproof safety features on all guns.

3. Help state and local governments protect children from guns.Urge your state legislators and local officials to support laws to prevent child access to guns, such asrequirements for locking devices and imposing criminal liability when guns are left unsecured or storednegligently. Oppose efforts to weaken state and local gun laws or legislation that limits the ability ofschools, physicians and others to do their part to keep children safe from guns. Demand the repeal of“Stand your Ground” laws now in effect in 21 states that encourage a “shoot first and ask questionslater” approach to confrontations, as well as laws allowing concealed weapons on school grounds, inchild care centers, or other public venues where children gather.

4. Nonviolent conflict resolution should be a part of our homes, schools, congregations andcommunities. Family violence in our society is an epidemic, child abuse and neglect are widespread,and children are exposed to television programming that glamorizes guns, violence and brutality.Conflict resolution skills are essential in this environment but not typically taught in school or at home.Concerned parents can partner with schools, community groups and faith congregations to organizenonviolent conflict resolution support groups and push for adoption of a conflict resolution curriculumin your local school. Some excellent resources on conflict resolution include the following:

� n A Program for Teaching Social Literacy by Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith is a violence prevention curriculum for kindergarten through grade 5.

n Massachusetts Medical Society’s Recognizing and Preventing Youth Violence providesguidance for health care professionals on how to intervene to prevent youth violence. ( http://www.massmed.org/violence )

8 Garen J. Wintemute et al. 2001. “Subsequent Criminal Activity Among Violent Misdemeanants Who Seek to Purchase Handguns.” Journal of the American Medical Association, 285(8): 1019-1026.

9 RM Johnson, T. Coyne-Beasley, and CW Runyan. 2004. “Firearm ownership and storage practices, U.S. households, 1992-2002: A systematic review.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 27(2): 173-182.

10 Catherine A. Okoro, et al. 2005. “Prevalence of household firearms and firearm-storage practice in the 50 states and the District ofColumbia: Findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2002.” Pediatrics, 116(3): e370-e376. Available at http://pediatrics. aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/116/3/e370 .

11 Legal Community Against Violence. 2008. Regulating Guns in America: An Evaluation and Comparative Analysis of Federal, State andSelected Local Gun Laws. Available at https://lcav.org/publications-briefs/regulating_guns.asp . Accessed July 2011.


� n Safe Start Center’s Healing the Invisible Wounds: Children’s Exposure to Violence provides a guide for families helping a child or teen deal with trauma. Also, see HelpingChildren Cope with Violence: A School-Based Program That Works for helping childrenand teens in a school setting. ( http://www.safestartcenter.org )

� n Other educational resources focused on conflict resolution include Educators for SocialResponsibility ( http://www.esrnational.org ) and the Association for Conflict Resolution ( http://acrnet.org/resources/index.htm ).

5. Boycott products that glamorize violence.Our culture frequently glamorizes guns and violence in movies, television, music and on the internet.Many shows targeted at children have violent themes and language. Refuse to buy or use products thatglamorize or make violence socially acceptable. Turn off violent programming and read or play with yourchildren instead. Talk to them about the importance of rejecting violence as a cultural or personal value.

6. Focus attention on the number of children killed and injured by gun violence.Children and teens impacted by gun violence and concerned community members can unite to educateothers about our crisis of gun violence. There are moving examples of parents and other family membersof a child killed or injured by a gun channeling their grief and anger into broadening public under-standing of the devastation of guns and increasing political support for stronger gun laws. Mobilizesupport to protect children from gun violence:

� n Organize a group of influential community leaders to see and hear first-hand the effectsof gun violence. Let them hear from children and teens who were victims of gun violence.Arrange visits with medical staff from your local hospital who directly serve gun violencevictims and their families. Involve police officers who interact with both victims and perpetrators.

� n Urge local newspapers to publish and radio and television stations to broadcast storiesand photographs of children and teens killed by guns in your community. Get them tokeep a running tally of young gun victims in 2012.

� n Encourage your place of worship to read the names of children killed by guns in yourcommunity and publish their photos in the congregational bulletin. Begin a visual memorialto the young lives lost to gun violence by placing a stone in a central and meaningfullocation to mark each child lost to gun violence in your community.

� n Encourage and help children and teens who have been victims of gun violence to write a letter to the editor or an opinion column about how to stop the violence.

� n Connect with groups working to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in this country. Go to www.childrensdefense.org/violenceresources to learn more about national, stateand local organizations that you can help to make a difference.

7. Support innovative efforts to promote positive youth development.Many children and teens, particularly in urban areas, are exposed to gangs, drugs, violence and gunson a daily basis. We must offer positive alternatives and role models for them, especially during after-schoolhours, weekends and summers. We must open our congregational, school and community doors andengage young people in purposeful activities. For example, the CDF Freedom Schools® reading andenrichment model program includes nonviolence training and conflict resolution. ( http://www.childrensdefense.org/freedomschools )


Child and Teen Gun Deaths

5,740 children and teens died from gunfire in the United States in 2008 and 2009.n 2,947 children and teens were killed by guns in 2008; another 2,793 were killed in 2009.Two-thirds were victims of homicide (3,892), one-quarter were suicide (1,548), and five percentwere accidental or unknown (300) gun deaths. Black children and teens were only 15 percent of the child population but were 45 percent of the total fatal gun deaths in 2008and 2009.

n Overall, gun deaths among children and teens declined slightly (three percent) between2007 and 2008, and declined an additional five percent between 2008 and 2009.

• Between 2008 and 2009, 154 fewer children and teens died from guns. There were182 fewer homicides, nine fewer accidental gun deaths, and 15 fewer gun deathsclassified as unknown. Suicides with a gun increased by 52 offsetting the overalldecline in gun deaths.

• Between 2007 and 2008, 95 fewer children and teens died from guns. Although 160 fewer children and teens died in homicide, accidental and unknown gun deaths(124, 15 and 21 fewer deaths respectively), the increase of 65 suicide deaths offsetthe overall decline in gun deaths.

n The number of children and teens killed by guns in 2008 and 2009 would fill more than229 public school classrooms of 25 students each.

n The number of preschoolers killed by guns in 2008 (88) and in 2009 (85) was nearly double thenumber of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2008 (41) and 2009 (48).12

n Sixty-six percent of the gun deaths of children and teens in 2009 were homicides; 29 percentwere suicides. Among adults the trend is the opposite: 34 percent of gun deaths in 2009were homicides while 64 percent were suicides.

% 100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Unknown

Accidental

Suicides

Homicides

Adults Children and Teens

34%

66%

64%29%

Firearm Deaths of Adults and Children/Teens, by Manner, 2009

12 Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2009. “Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2008.” U.S. Department of Justice.http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2008/ (accessed January 2012).

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009. “Fatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-based Injury StatisticsQuery and Reporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.


n Eighty-seven percent of children and teens killed by guns in 2009 were boys (2,434). Boysages 15 to 19 were more than seven times as likely as girls that age to commit suicide with a gun.

n Eighty-seven percent of gun deaths of children and teens in 2009 occurred among teensages 15 to 19 years old. In fact, more 15 to 19 year olds died from gunshot wounds in2009 than from any other cause except motor vehicle accidents.

n Between 1979 and 2009 gun deaths among White children and teens have decreased by 44 percent, compared to an overall 30 percent increase among Black children and teens over the same period. (See Table 1 in Appendix)

n Ninety percent of gun deaths of Black children and teens in 2009 were homicides (1,092);six percent were suicides (72). Among White children and teens, almost half of all gundeaths in 2009 were homicides (730) while 46 percent were suicides (698). White childrenand teens are twice as likely to commit suicide by gun as Black children and teens.

n In 2009, 43 percent of gun deaths were Black children and teens and 54 percent were White; 59 percent of homicide victims were Black children and teens; 87 percent of suicide victims were White.


Firearm Deaths of Children and Teens, by Age, Manner, and Race/Hispanic Origin, 2008

Under Ages Ages Ages Total under5 5–9 10–14 15–19 age 20

All Races 88 60 228 2,571 2,947

Accidental 21 12 29 61 123Homicide 65 44 143 1,785 2,037Suicide 0 0 50 698 748Undetermined 2 4 6 27 39

White 51 35 136 1,266 1,488

Accidental 14 5 20 43 82Homicide 36 28 69 629 762Suicide 0 0 44 580 624Undetermined 1 2 3 14 20

Black 32 20 83 1,236 1,371


AmerInd/Alaskan 1 2 6 37 46


Asian/Pacific Islander 4 3 3 32 42


Hispanic* 15 11 34 503 563


*Persons of Hispanic origin can be of any race.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2008. “Fatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-based Injury Statistics Queryand Reporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal_injury_reports.html . Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.


Firearm Deaths of Children and Teens, by Age, Manner, and Race/Hispanic Origin, 2009

Under Ages Ages Ages Total under5 5–9 10–14 15–19 age 20

All Races 85 66 203 2,439 2,793


White 47 43 142 1,283 1,515


Black 34 23 58 1,096 1,211

Accidental 5 5 3 25 38Homicide 28 17 52 995 1,092Suicide 0 0 3 69 72Undetermined 1 1 0 7 9

AmerInd/Alaskan 0 0 0 40 40


Asian/Pacific Islander 4 0 3 20 27


Hispanic* 12 12 39 503 566


*Persons of Hispanic origin can be of any race.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009. “Fatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-based Injury Statistics Queryand Reporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal_injury_reports.html . Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.


13 U.S. Department of Defense. 2012. “Casualty Status.” http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm (accessed March 23, 2012).

14 Data for American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander children not available for 1979-1980, Hispanic data not available prior to 1990. Data for White and Black children include those who are of Hispanic ethnicity.

15 Archives at Tuskegee Institute, “Lynchings: By Year and Race, 1882-1968.” http://faculty.berea.edu/browners/chesnutt/classroom/lynching_table_year.html

116,385 children and teens in America have died from gun violence in the 30 years since 1979.

n The number of children and teens killed by guns since 1979 would fill 4,655 public schoolclassrooms of 25 students each or Boston’s Fenway Park three times over.

n Since 1979, America has lost nearly three times as many children and teens to gunfire asthe number of U.S. military deaths during the Vietnam War and over 23 times the number ofU.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.13

*U.S. military killed in action.

n Of the 116,385 children killed by guns since 1979, 59 percent were White and 38 percentwere Black.14

n The majority of gun deaths among children since 1979 have been homicides (57 percent)while nearly one-third have been suicides (31 percent).

n The number of Black children and teens killed by gunfire in the 30 years since 1979 isnearly 13 times greater than the number of recorded lynchings of Black people of all ages in America in the 86 years between 1882 and 1968.15

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

Children and Teens Killed by Guns

since 1979

116,385

41,509 37,000

5,013

Vietnam U.S. Military*

Capacity of Fenway Park

Iraq and Afghanistan U.S. Military*

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

Black Children and Teens Killed by Guns since 1979

Black Lynchings (1882-1968)

44,038

3,445


Black teens are at greater risk of gun-related homicide.

Black youth are at greater risk of gun homicide compared to their White and Hispanic peers. The leadingcause of death among Black youth ages 15 to 19 in 2009 was gun homicide. Among White teens this age,the leading cause of death was motor vehicle accidents followed by gun suicide and then gun homicide.

Black males ages 15-19 were eight times as likely as White males of the same age and two-and-a-halftimes as likely as their Hispanic peers to be killed in a gun homicide in 2009.

Rate

per

100

,000

Tee

ns A

ges

15-1

9 72.2

27.630.2

3.1

7.7

3.6

10.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009

Black

Hispanic

White

Firearm Homicide Rate of Teens Ages 15-19, by Race/Hispanic Origin, 1981–2009

* Note: Persons of Hispanic origin can be of any race.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1981-2009. “Fatal Injury Reports.” U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices. Accessed using the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS).http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal_injury_reports.html . Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

49.7

Rat

e pe

r 10

0,00

0 M

ales

Age

s 15

–19

6.0

18.1

Hispanic Males White MalesBlack Males

Firearm Homicide Rate of Males Ages 15-19, by Race/Hispanic Origin, 2009

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009. “Fatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.


Homicide: The Leading Cause of Gun Deaths Among Children and Teens.

The dramatic rise and fall of gun deaths among children and teens since 1979 is driven bychanges in homicide deaths.

n Between 1983 and 1993 (when homicide deaths peaked), homicide gun deaths of childrenand teens increased by nearly 200 percent; suicides increased by 27 percent.

n During the next 10 years (1994-2004), both homicide and suicide gun deaths among children and teens declined substantially.

n Both homicide and suicide gun deaths of children and teens fluctuated between 2005and 2009.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1979-1999. “CDC Wonder.” U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices. Accessed using the Compressed Mortality database. http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortSQL.html . (accessed December 2004).Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2000-2009. “Fatal Injury Reports.”U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed using the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System(WISQARS). http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal_injury_reports.html . Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.

1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2009

3,625

1,833

800

11424

20040

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

Num

ber

of D

eath

s

Suicide

Accident

Unknown

Homicide

Firearm Deaths of Children and Teens, by Manner, 1979-2009


34,387 children and teens were injured by guns in 2008 and 2009.n The number of children and teens injured by a gun increased every year from 2003 to 2008,from 11,884 in 2003 to a high of 20,596 in 2008, but dropped to 13,791 in 2009.

n Youth ages 15-19 have the second highest gun injury rate (58.3 per 100,000) of all agegroups after young adults ages 20-24 (79.4 per 100,000). Of all the gun injuries for childrenand youth, 94 percent were teens ages 15-19.

n Over 70 percent of gun injuries in 2009 were assaults (10,038); 26 percent were accidents(3,588); and one percent were self inflicted (165).

Child and Teen Gun Injuries

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Rat

e per

10

0,0

00

70

51.1

16.6

14.5

5.0

200920082007200620052004200320022001

Total RateBlackWhiteHispanic

Firearm Injury Rate of Children and Teens, by Race/Hispanic Origin, 2001–2009

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2001-2009. “Nonfatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-based InjuryStatistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/nonfatal.html . Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.

Num

ber

of

Inju

ries

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

10,038

3,588165

13,791

TotalAssaultAccidentalSelf-Harm

Firearm Injuries of Children and Teens, by Manner, 2001–2009


n Boys and girls are affected differently by gun injuries:

• Boys are nearly 12 times more likely than girls to be injured in gun accidents.

• Girls are nearly 10 times more likely than boys to have self-inflicted gun injuries.

• Boys are five-and-a-half times more likely than girls to be injured in gun assaults.

n The distribution of gun injuries by manner is different for Black and White children and teens.

• Black children and teens experienced nearly 60 percent of all gun injuries caused byan assault in 2009 while White children and teens accounted for eight percent.

• White children and teens experienced 44 percent of all accidental gun injuries in 2009; Black children and teens accounted for 35 percent.

n Black teens ages 15 to 19 were nearly 25 times more likely to be injured by a gun during anassault than their White peers in 2009.

Boys: 8,592

Girls: 1,445

Assault Firearm Injury

Firearm Injury, by Manner and Gender, 2009

Accidental Firearm Injury Self-Harm Firearm Injury

Girls: 149

Boys:16

Boys: 3,320

Girls: 268

43.0

5.9

145.7

48.2

0

30

60

90

Rat

e pe

r 1

00

,00

0

120

150

160

HispanicBlack WhiteAll races

Assault Firearm Injuries for Teens Ages 15-19, by Race/Hispanic Origin, 2009

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009. “Nonfatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-basedInjury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/nonfatal.html . Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009. “Nonfatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.


Children and Teens Victimized by Guns in Cities

Urban residents bear the brunt of gun-related violent crime. In a special report examining violence-related gun deaths in metropolitan areas and cities in 2006 and 200716 the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention found that 67 percent of 25,423 gun homicides took place in the 50 largest metropolitanstatistical areas17 in America.18 The problem is even more pronounced in central cities, which experi-enced 9.7 gun homicides per 100,000 people compared to the national per capita average of 4.2.

Children and teens are disproportionately affected by urban gun violence

Nearly three-quarters of all gun homicides among youth ages 10 to 19 in 2006 and 2007 occurred inthe 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas. The plight of youth in cities is even more serious. Cities hada per capita rate of gun homicide among children and teens that was nearly three times as high as thatfor the country as a whole. The gun homicide rate for the 50 largest central cities was 14.6 deaths per100,000 youth ages 10 to 19 compared to 5.0 nationally. Several cities had much higher rates:

16 Most recent data available for metropolitan areas and cities.17 A metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget as “a core area containing a substantialpopulation nucleus, together with adjacent communities.” The central cities (“cities”) comprise the core areas of an MSA.

18 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2011. “Violence-Related Firearm Deaths Among Residents of Metropolitan Areas andCities—United States, 2006-2007.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6018a1.htm .

Rate per 100,000 Children and Teens Ages 10-19

Guns in Cities

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2011. “Violence-Related Firearm Deaths Among Residents ofMetropolitan Areas and Cities—United States, 2006-2007.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6018a1.htm .

Cities with the Highest Firearm Homicide Rates, Ages 10-19, 2006–2007

New Orleans, LA

St. Louis, MO

Oakland, CA

Newark, NJ

Baltimore, MD

Richmond, VA

Miami, FL

Washington, DC

Detroit, MI

Cincinnati, OH

National

0 40 60 80 100 12020

106.0

50.2

47.4

45.8

43.1

42.0

32.5

31.7

31.1

5.0

47.7


Mayors Against Illegal Guns

In order to better protect those living in their cities, more than 600 mayors from large and smallcities across the country have joined the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, co-chaired byMayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City and Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston. Theirmajor goal is to protect their residents, especially children, from harm by stopping the threat ofillegal guns and preventing criminals from getting guns illegally.

These mayors commit to working together to advance the following principles:

n Punish—to the maximum extent of the law—criminals who possess, use, and traffic inillegal guns.

n Target and hold accountable irresponsible gun dealers who break the law by knowinglyselling guns to straw purchasers. (Straw purchasers buy guns for people who are not eligibleto buy guns themselves. The ATF has reported that over 30 percent of all the traffickedguns involved in their criminal investigations are diverted to the illegal market by strawpurchasers.)

n Oppose all federal efforts to restrict cities’ rights to access, use, and share trace datathat is so essential to effective enforcement, or to interfere with the ability of theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to combat illegal gun trafficking. (The ATFproduces trace data when they track the history of a firearm from its sale by a manufacturer or importer through its first retail purchaser.)

n Work to develop and use technologies that aid in the detection and tracing of illegal guns.n Support all local, state and federal legislation that targets illegal guns; coordinate legislative,enforcement, and litigation strategies; and share information and best practices.

n Invite other cities to join in this new national effort. (Italics added by CDF from the Frequently Asked Questions on the Mayors AgainstIllegal Guns Website.)

After the mass shootings in Tucson 2011, Mayors Against Illegal Guns conducted a national survey to discover to what extent data on mental health and drug abuse records were reported bystates to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NCIS). Felons, the seriouslymentally ill, drug abusers and others are prohibited by federal law from possessing guns, but thesurvey revealed lax reporting by state agencies to the federal background check database. In How Missing Records in the Federal Background Check System Put Guns in the Hands ofKillers, they reported that despite improvements in some states, both mental health and substanceabuse records were underreported, in large part because of lack of clarity by states as to whatmental health and substance abuse records should be reported. Fifty state summaries of reportingto the NCIS are included in their report. They also found that federal agencies that are requiredto report any record of persons prohibited from purchasing guns to the FBI have shared few relevant records.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns continues to push to close the gun show loophole. Currently federal lawonly requires background checks to be conducted by federally licensed dealers so even if the NCISdatabases were complete, the impact would be limited. Currently no background checks arerequired by unlicensed private sellers, who conduct an estimated 40 percent of gun sales in the U.S.

For further information about Mayors Against Illegal Guns, see http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/ .


Impedients to Local Efforts to Protect Children from Guns

Some cities have worked hard to reduce the gun supply and high rates of gun violence. However,local efforts to control guns and protect children from guns have been limited at least in part bystate legislatures. Forty-two states have adopted preemption laws to ensure that the state legislaturehas control of gun and/or ammunition regulation, making it nearly impossible for cities to developlocal solutions to gun violence in their communities. There also have been challenges in thecourts. U.S. Supreme Court decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller 19 and McDonald v. City ofChicago 20 were interpreted together to mean that the Second Amendment protection for a limitedright to possess handguns in the home for self defense applied to state and local laws. However,the Court was careful to point out that the rulings did not prohibit all government regulation ofguns. The good news is that the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence reports that since the decisions in Heller and McDonald three years ago, more than 400 challenges to state and localgun laws—an average of more than two a week—have been brought, but the courts have over-whelmingly rejected the cases. The Brady campaign notes that courts have held, for example,that gun owners may be required to safely store guns in homes and there is not a right to carryhidden, loaded guns in public.21

19 128 S,Ct, 2783 (U.S. 2008)20 130 S.Ct. 3020 (U.S. 2010)21 Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, “Hollow Victory? Gun Laws Survive Three Years After District of Columbia v. Heller, Yet

Criminals and the Gun Lobby Continue Their Legal Assault.” Washington, D.C., 2011.

Mass Shootings

What will it take for Congress, states, cities, and citizens to say enough and pass common sense gun laws to protect our children?

Selected incidents of mass shootings involving children and teens since 2008:

n Chardon, OH • February 27, 2012 – Three students were killed and two were injured in a high schoolwhen a 17-year-old boy fired shots in the cafeteria and again as he proceeded down a hallway. The boy was arrested a distance from the school.

n Kansas City, MO • August 13, 2011 – At least three teens ages 13, 15 and 16 were injured in shootingswhen a melee erupted on the city’s Country Club Plaza.

n Copley, OH • August 7, 2011 – Seven people were killed, including two teenagers and an 11-year-oldchild, when a man went on a neighborhood shooting rampage. The man was later shot and killed in agunfight with a police officer and former officer.

n Apopka, FL • July 24, 2011 – A teenager armed with a handgun opened fire after a fight broke out ata birthday party. The teen fired numerous rounds leaving nine other teens ages 15 to 19 wounded.

n Bechtelsville, PA • July 2, 2011 – Two couples and a 2-year-old boy were all shot in their countryvacation home by a lone gunman seeking revenge from an insurance dispute with one of the victims.All five victims were shot in the head. Two were killed, including the toddler. Another would die laterin the hospital, while the other victims remained in critical condition. The gunman was tracked downby police and killed in a shootout with several officers.

n Houston, TX • April 19, 2011 – Three students were injured when a six-year-old student brought aloaded gun to school that accidentally discharged when it fell out of his pocket.

n Burlington, CO • March 2, 2011 – A 12-year-old boy was arrested after a shooting that killed a husbandand wife and their two children—a 5-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy. The shooter was related to thevictims. Burlington is a farming community of about 4,400 residents.

n Tucson, AZ • January 8, 2011 – Six people were killed including a 9-year-old child and a federal judge,and 13 were injured, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, when a gunman armed with a semiautomaticweapon opened fire at Rep. Giffords’ meet-and-greet outside a shopping center. The gunman, a mentally-ill22-year-old, shot 32 rounds in 16-seconds before being subdued while trying to reload.

n Seattle, WA • September 23, 2010 – A grandmother with schizophrenia armed with a handgun killed her14- and 17-year-old granddaughters and her 43-year-old son-in-law, and injured her 42-year-old daughter.

n Dallas, TX • July 9, 2010 – A man killed his pregnant girlfriend, two of their children and himself. Heshot their third child, age 7, in the face but she survived. He had a history of domestic violence andthe victim had a restraining order against him.

n Milwaukee, WI • March 3, 2010 – A man shot four people, including a teen and a pregnant woman,all of whom survived, outside a house early in the morning. The victims and shooter had argued earlier.The pregnant victim delivered her baby at the hospital.

n Appomattox, VA • January 19, 2010 – A 39-year-old man shot and killed his sister, her husband,their two children and four family friends in and around the family home. The man also shot at policewith an assault rifle when they arrived at the scene, and even shot a police helicopter six times,bringing it down. The shooter, who first obtained a concealed carry permit in 1995 and owned dozensof weapons, including “many” AR-15 assault rifles, was badly affected by his mother’s death in 2006and had reportedly become angry about ownership of the family house and land that was left jointlyto him and his sister.

n Madison, WI • November 28, 2009 – A man shot his girlfriend and then their two children in theirheads in a domestic violence incident. They all survived.

n Walterboro, SC • November 9, 2009 – Three people were killed, including a 20-month-old baby girl,and at least five others were injured in a drive-by shooting. The victims were outside their home whenthe shooting occurred.



n Long Beach, CA • October 20, 2009 – A 16-year-old was shot and killed and two non-students ages18 and 20 were injured when someone opened fire as hundreds of people were leaving a Friday nightfootball game.

n Decatur, GA • September 22, 2009 – A 24-year-old man armed with a .223-caliber assault rifle shotand killed three people, including a 3-year-old boy, and injured one person after an argument. The incidenttook place at the home of the victims who knew the shooter. The shooter had been in prison previouslyfor shooting someone in 2006 on the same street.

n Chicago, IL • June 24, 2009 – Three people were injured and a 9-year-old girl died after being shotin a drive-by shooting. The girl had been giving her dog a bath outside her father’s house when shewas killed.

n Lenoir, NC • May 27, 2009 – A man shot and seriously wounded an 8-year-old girl, her father, andtwo sheriff deputies in an incident that began when the shooter killed the girl’s dog after it had killeda cat. The shooter was killed in a gun battle with police.

n Lakeland, FL • May 2, 2009 – A man shot and killed his wife, 4-month-old infant, and 8-year-old sonwith an assault rifle before fatally shooting himself. He also shot at his 13-year-old son, but the boymanaged to run away uninjured.

n Warren, OH • April 13, 2009 – Someone armed with an assault weapon fired repeatedly into a homeduring a drive-by shooting, killing a child and an adult, and injuring a second child.

n Graham, WA • April 4, 2009 – A father shot and killed his five children, aged 7 to 16, shooting eachmultiple times after his wife left him. He later shot and killed himself several miles away in his car.Child welfare had previously investigated him for assaulting one of his children.

n Portsmouth, VA • March 7, 2009 – A gunman opened fire on a group of people from his car. Sevenwere injured, including four teenagers, a 12-year-old and a 5-year-old.

n Portland, OR • January 24, 2009 – Two girls, age 16 and 17, were killed and seven others, mostlyteens from a Rotary International exchange program, were injured outside an underage night club.

n Detroit, MI • October 16, 2008 – Three teenagers shot four other teenagers near Henry Ford HighSchool over a fight at school. A 16-year-old died from his injuries.

n Irvington, NJ • September 8, 2008 – A gunman shot a woman, her teenage daughter, her teenageniece and her boyfriend’s teenage daughter before setting their house on fire.

n Niagara, WI • July 31, 2008 – A man with an assault rifle massacred a group of teenagers, killingthree and injuring a fourth. The group was gathered along a river to go swimming when the gunmanemerged from surrounding woods and began shooting.

n Anderson, NC • June 22, 2008 – Three men with an AK-47 assault rifle fired on a group of teenagersstanding outside an apartment building. Three of the teens were injured and another was killed.

n Fort Worth, TX • April 6, 2008 – A 5-year-old girl and her grandmother died and three other childrenand a woman were injured when they were shot while at a child’s birthday party. A gunman firedmany rounds at the children who were playing outside.

n Los Angeles, CA • February 28, 2008 – Five children and three adults were injured when a man shotinto a crowd of people waiting at a bus stop. A nearby school had just let out for the day.

n Cockeysville, MD • February 1, 2008 – A 15-year-old boy shot and killed his parents and two youngerbrothers while they were sleeping.

n Washington, DC • January 22, 2008 – Four high school students were shot as they were leavingschool at the end of the day and were expected to recover.

Source: Excerpted and adapted from Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Mass Shootings in the United States Since 2005,http://www.bradycampaign.org/xshare/pdf/major-shootings.pdf (accessed February 2012), and from Brady Campaign to Prevent GunViolence. Major School Shootings in the United States Since 1997, where incidents involving children with three or more victimswere excerpted, http://www.bradycampaign.org/xshare/pdf/school-shootings.pdf (accessed February 2012).


Child and Teen Gun Deaths by State

Just over half of the homicide and suicide gun deaths of children and teens in 2009 were in eightstates: California (388), Texas (224), Florida (151), Illinois (151), Michigan (133), Missouri (98), New York (97) and Louisiana (95).

n There is overlap between the states with the highest per capita rates of homicide and suicidegun deaths of youth under 20 and states with the highest per capita rates of homicide andsuicide gun deaths among adults 20 and over. Four states made both lists: Louisiana, NewMexico, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

State Trends

Top Ten States with the Highest Per Capita Homicide and Suicide Firearm Death Rates for Children, Teens and Adults, 2009

Homicide and Suicide Deaths Homicide and Suicide Deaths Per 100,000 Children and Teens Per 100,000 Adults

District of Columbia* 17.6 Alabama 21.9Louisiana 7.6 Louisiana 21.1Missouri 6.1 Mississippi 20.6Michigan 5.0 Montana 20.1New Mexico 4.4 Arkansas 19.6Illinois 4.3 Nevada 19.5South Carolina 4.2 Wyoming* 18.9Tennessee 4.2 Tennessee 18.4Oklahoma 4.1 New Mexico 17.9Maryland 3.9 Oklahoma 17.6

*Rates for District of Columbia and Wyoming only include homicide deaths.

State trends are more difficult to analyze for 2008 and 2009 due to changes in the WISQARS FatalInjury Data, which no longer report figures for a particular category of deaths unless there are at least 10 deaths. This is due to new, more restrictive rules for reporting state death data in order to avoid inadvertent disclosure of a decedent’s identity. These changes have implications on reporting in stateswith smaller child populations and also on particular manners of death, such as accident or unknown,which have historically smaller numbers of deaths. Nearly half the states have incomplete data on gundeaths due to these new rules, making it challenging to illustrate by state the exact number of childrenkilled by guns. For 15 states, no gun death data are reported. However, individual deaths that are notincluded in the state data are included in the overall national figure.


2007 2008 2009Homicide Suicide Homicide Suicide Homicide Suicide

Alabama 52 11 48 14 25 17Alaska — — — — — —Arizona 53 17 58 27 36 21Arkansas 23 -- 17 16 17 13California 376 43 351 53 334 54Colorado 13 16 13 17 13 23Connecticut 10 — — — — —Delaware — — — — — —District of Columbia 25 — 23 0 24 —Florida 136 31 140 34 104 47Georgia 87 16 86 23 57 26Hawaii — — — — — —Idaho — 12 — 15 — —Illinois 128 17 143 22 133 18Indiana 31 16 41 23 25 20Iowa — 10 — 16 — —Kansas 19 17 13 — 19 —Kentucky 21 17 16 17 13 17Louisiana 82 21 64 12 78 17Maine — — — — — —Maryland 73 — 68 0 46 13Massachusetts 26 — 23 0 18 —Michigan 92 23 83 22 100 33Minnesota 11 16 17 11 — 19Mississippi 20 16 29 21 23 10Missouri 55 20 63 26 78 20Montana — — 0 0 — —Nebraska 10 — — — — —Nevada 27 — 20 — 16 —New Hampshire — — — — — —New Jersey 50 — 45 — 42 —New Mexico 14 16 13 18 15 10New York 93 13 75 16 80 17North Carolina 67 17 53 23 44 41North Dakota — — — — — —Ohio 65 32 58 36 57 29Oklahoma 24 16 29 16 25 17Oregon — 11 — 11 10 —Pennsylvania 93 21 87 22 70 25Rhode Island — — — — — —South Carolina 46 — 30 16 35 16South Dakota — — — — — —Tennessee 40 19 47 17 50 19Texas 160 73 137 60 143 81Utah — — — 11 — 11Vermont — — — — — —Virginia 57 19 48 27 32 23Washington 16 15 27 19 18 18West Virginia — — — — — 10Wisconsin 35 14 10 10 14 17Wyoming — — — — — —

State Data Total 2,130 585 1,975 671 1,794 702Actual National Total* 2,161 683 2,037 748 1,855 800Difference -31 -98 -62 -77 -61 -98

Note: This table reflects the CDC’s new reporting guidelines for state-level data that started with the release of the data for 2008. All state-level data entriesless than 10 have been suppressed to protect the anonymity of the victims. This missing data is denoted by —, which means that between 1 and 9 firearmdeaths were reported by that state.

*There is a difference between the numbers shown in the “State Data Total” and the “Actual National Total” columns because the latter includes the missingdata not reported in the state column due to the new CDC reporting guidelines to protect the anonymity of victims at the state level.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2007-2009. “Fatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-based Injury Statistics Query andReporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Calculations by Children's Defense Fund.

Homicide and Suicide Firearm Deaths of Children and Teens, 2007–2009


State Policy Hall of Shame22

Kansas, Mississippi and Utah Say Guns in Schools are OkayIn 2011, Kansas, Mississippi and Utah enacted laws allowing concealed weapon permit holdersto carry loaded, concealed guns in or on the grounds of elementary and secondary schools. In Kansas, permit holders can now carry a gun on the grounds of public and private elementary,middle and high schools.23 Utah permit holders can do the same and now also have the right to carryguns in buildings housing preschools and daycare centers.24 Mississippi legislation allows permitholders to carry concealed guns in K-12 school buildings; at college, professional and K-12 school athletic events; and in bars, churches, and other areas where guns had previously been prohibited.25

Florida to Punish Doctors for Asking About Guns in the HomeA new Florida law, enacted in June of 2011, threatens loss of a medical license for doctors whomake routine inquiries about whether patients have a gun in the home.26 When first proposed,the bill made it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and fines up to $5 million for a doctorwho asked about or recorded information about gun ownership. The bill passed was a compromisebetween the National Rifle Association and the Florida chapter of the American Medical Association.As a matter of practice, doctors ask patients and parents of patients about possible safety hazards,including whether a gun is present in the home. A temporary injunction was issued in September2011 by a U.S. District Judge who said that the law violates a doctor’s right to free speech. Thecase is now on appeal. Three other states (Alabama, Minnesota and North Carolina) introducedsimilar measures in 2011.

Indiana Prohibits Local Governments and Other Entities from Passing Stricter Gun RegulationsA new Indiana law enacted in June 2011 tells residents and the leadership in cities and townsacross the state that the state legislature gets to decide how guns should be regulated in theircommunities.27 Indiana, which already strictly limited local authority to regulate guns, has made iteven more difficult by prohibiting political subdivisions—defined to include school corporationsand public libraries—from restricting gun possession. The law also prohibits local governmentsfrom restricting concealed weapon permit holders from carrying guns in most government buildings.

Arizona and Utah Name State GunsIn stunning disregard for the victims of the January 2011 shooting in Tucson, in April 2011Arizona’s governor signed into law a bill adding a state gun—the Colt single action army revolver—as an official state emblem.28 Arizona is the second state to name an official state gun; Utah wasthe first state to adopt one—the Browning M1911 automatic pistol—in March 2011.29

22 Legal Community Against Violence. 2009. “Recent Developments in State law – 2011.” http://www.lcav.org/content/recent_developments_2011.asp (accessed December 19, 2011).

23 Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6301(a)(11)(West 2011).24 Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-203.2 (West 2011).25 Miss. Code Ann. § 97-37-7 (West 2011).26 Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 381.026, 456,072, 790.338 (West 2011).27 Ind. Code Ann. § 35-47-11.1-2 (West 2011)28 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 41-860-02 (West 2011).29 Utah Code Ann. § 63G-1-601 (West 2011).


Steps by States and Localities to Prevent Child Access to Guns

Federal gun policy contains significant gaps and mostly focuses on the sale and transfer of guns.Generally, the hard work of crafting comprehensive gun control legislation has been left to state andlocal governments. Laws in place that reduce the likelihood of children and teens accessing gunsinclude requiring locking devices, imposing criminal liability on adults for leaving guns accessible tochildren and teens, and instituting minimum age requirements for purchase and possession of guns.According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for InjuryPrevention and Control, states with higher rates of gun ownership and weak gun control laws have thehighest rates of gun deaths.30 Below is a summary of state laws that exceed minimal federal requirementsin order to protect children and teens from intentional and unintentional gun violence.

Requirements for Locking Devices Federal law only requires licensed importers, dealers or manufacturers to have a locking device on gunsthey sell or transfer. These requirements do not apply to transfers by private sellers nor do they requirethe person who obtains the gun to continue using the locking device.31 No federal standards exist forlocking devices.

n Eleven states32 have stepped up and passed laws requiring gun-locking devices under certaincircumstances. The most comprehensive locking device laws are in California, which requiressafety locks on all guns manufactured, sold or transferred in the state, and Massachusetts,which requires that all handguns be stored with a lock in place. The fact that only 11 statesrequire gun locking devices to protect children from guns stands in stark contrast to stateefforts to protect children from other harms. All 50 states and the District of Columbia havepassed child safety seat laws;33 49 states and the District of Columbia have passed seat beltviolation laws; 48 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws enforcing a requirementfor personal flotation devices for both recreational boats and personal watercrafts for children;34

and 21 states have passed laws requiring children to wear bike helmets.35

30 “States with Higher Gun Ownership and Weak Gun Laws Lead Nation in Gun Death.”2009. Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center.Available at http://www.vpc.org/press/0905gundeath.htm . Accessed July 13, 2010.

31 18 U.S.C. § 922(z).32 California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island.33 National Conference of State Legislatures. January 2012. Occupant Protection (Safety Belts and Child Passenger). At http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/transport/occupant-protection-safety-belts-and-child-passen.aspx .

34 National Conference of State Legislatures. 2010. “Childhood Injury Prevention.” http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/health/childhood-injury-prevention-policy-issues-overview.aspx .

35 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, November 2011. See http://www.iihs.org/laws/mapbicyclehelmets.aspx .


Child Access Prevention Laws 36

Child access prevention laws permit criminal prosecution of adults if their gun is left unsecured and/ora child uses that gun to harm themselves or others. There are no federal child access prevention laws.

n Twenty-seven states have laws designed to prevent children from having access to gunsalthough they take effect at different ages37 and often include a number of exceptions.

• The strongest laws impose criminal liability when a minor could or does gain accessto a negligently stored gun. Generally, these laws apply when a person “knows or reasonably should know” that a minor is likely to gain access to the gun. Such lawsare found in 14 of the 27 states that have child access prevention laws; even thoselaws vary in strength in their ability to protect children:

Safety Locks Sold on or with HandgunsThe 2011 State Scorecard on gun laws by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence highlightsstates that require safety locks be installed in or sold with handguns to help prevent suicide byminors and unintentional deaths and injuries, and thwart gun traffickers who steal guns. A handgunwith a locking device can only be fired by an authorized user as technology can ‘read’ the uniquepalm print or fingerprint of its legal owner. Maryland and New Jersey are the only two states thatrequire locking devices be built into handguns during manufacturing and sold on all handguns.Laws in eight states (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York,Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island) require locking devices that prevent unauthorized users fromfiring the weapon be sold with all handguns. Four of these states (California, Maryland,Massachusetts, and New York) require that locking devices on handguns be certified and/or testedby law enforcement or government officials to ensure that the locks will work and cannot be easilyremoved by unauthorized users.

Two states can criminally prosecute someone for negligentstorage of an unloaded gun

Hawaii Massachusetts

Six states impose criminal liabilityfor allowing a minor to gainaccess to a gun regardless ofwhether the minor uses it orcauses any injury

HawaiiMaryland Massachusetts Minnesota New Jersey Texas

Eight states impose criminal liability only if the minor carriesand/or uses the gun

California Connecticut FloridaIllinois IowaNew Hampshire North Carolina Rhode Island

36 Legal Community Against Violence. 2008. Regulating Guns in America: An Evaluation and Comparative Analysis of Federal, State andSelected Local Gun Laws. Available at https://lcav.org/publications-briefs/regulating_guns.asp . Accessed December 2011.

37 States have different definitions of a minor, ranging from age 14 to under 18.

Source: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. 2012. “The 2011 Brady Campaign State Scorecard.”http://www.bradycampaign.org/stategunlaws/scorecard/ .

• The other thirteen states with child access prevention laws impose a weaker standardfor criminal liability. Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi,Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin prohibit personsfrom intentionally, knowingly, and/or recklessly providing a gun to a minor.


Minimum Age Requirements to Purchase or Possess Guns

Federal law includes minimal restrictions on the purchase or possession of guns by children.

n Handgun Purchases. Federal law prohibits licensed dealers from selling handguns or ammunitionto anyone under 21. Unlicensed dealers are barred from selling handguns or handgun ammunition to anyone under 18. No states have passed laws imposing stricter minimum agerequirements for handgun purchases. Note in the table on the next page that several stateseven appear to violate federal law with provisions that set minimum age requirements for handgunpurchases below 18 from licensed dealers, although federal law should prevail in such cases.

n Handgun Possession. Federal law makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to possess a handgunor handgun ammunition.

n Long Gun Purchases. Federal law prohibits licensed gun dealers from selling a shotgun orrifle or ammunition to anyone under 18. However, many of these guns change hands at largelyunregulated gun shows and other public markets dominated by unlicensed sellers who arenot subject to the same restrictions as licensed dealers.

n Long Gun Possession. There is no age restriction at the federal level for possession of long guns.

Absent tough federal restrictions, some states acted and passed laws imposing stricter regulations onminimum age requirements for purchase or possession of certain guns.

n Nine states and the District of Columbia make it illegal for anyone under age 21 to possessa handgun. In New Mexico, the minimum age to possess a handgun is 19.

n Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have laws imposing a minimum age requirement that is stricter than the federal requirement for the purchase of all handgunsand that applies to both licensed and unlicensed sellers.

n Twenty states and the District of Columbia impose a minimum age requirement for possession of long guns, an area where federal law is completely silent.

Alabama 16Alaska 18Arizona 18Arkansas 18California X X <18 21Colorado X <18Connecticut X X <16 21Delaware X <18 21District of Columbia 21 21 21Florida X <16 18 18Georgia X <18Hawaii X <16 21 21 18Idaho 18 18Illinois X X <14 21 21 21Indiana X <18 18Iowa X <14 21 21 18KansasKentucky X <18Louisiana 18Maine 18Maryland X X <16 21 21Massachusetts X X <18 21 21Michigan X 18Minnesota X <18 16Mississippi X <18 18Missouri X <18 18Montana 14NebraskaNevada X <18 18 18New Hampshire X <16New Jersey X X <16 21 21 18New Mexico 19New York X 21 16North Carolina X <18North Dakota 18Ohio X 21Oklahoma X <18 18 18Oregon 18 18Pennsylvania X 18 18Rhode Island X X <16 21 18South Carolina 21 21South DakotaTennessee X <18Texas X <17 18Utah X <18 18Vermont 16Virginia X <14Washington 18West VirginiaWisconsin X <14 18 18Wyoming

TOTAL 11 states 14 States 13 States 13 States 28 States 10 States 20 States and D.C. and D.C. and D.C.

*Blank spaces in the chart indicate absence of any state legislation or regulation for minimum age requirement.38 These state laws apply to both licensed and unlicensed dealers. Federal law prohibits licensed dealers from selling handguns or ammunition to anyone

under 21. Unlicensed dealers are barred from selling handguns or handgun ammunition to anyone under 18.39 Federal law makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to possess a handgun or handgun ammunition.40 There is no federal minimum age for possession of long guns.Source: Legal Community Against Violence. 2008. Regulating Guns in America: An Evaluation and Comparative Analysis of Federal, State and SelectedLocal Gun Laws. Available at https://lcav.org/publications-briefs/regulating_guns.asp . Accessed December 2011.

State Laws to Prevent Child Access to Guns*

RequireLocking Devices

CriminalLiability forNegligentStorage

CriminalLiability forProviding Gun toMinor

Child Access Prevention (CAP) Laws State Minimum Age Requirements

Definitionof a Minorfor StateCAP Laws

MinimumAge forHandgunPurchases38

MinimumAge forHandgunPossession39

Minimum Age for Long GunPossession40



America: The World Leader in Gun Violence Among Industrialized Nations

America leads a group of 23 industrialized nations in gun deaths. The United States has more guns per capita, more handguns per capita, and has the weakest gun control laws of these 23 high-income

countries.41 Among this group of nations, 80 percent of all gun deaths occurred in America, and 87 percent ofall children under 15 killed by guns were in the United States. The gun homicide rate in the United States forteens and young adults ages 15 to 24 was 42.7 times higher than the rate for the other countries combined.

The United States accounts for less than five percent of the global population, yet Americans own an estimated 35 to 50 percent of all civilian-owned guns in the world.42 Of the estimated eight million newguns manufactured annually across the world, about half are purchased by Americans.43

Ratio of U.S. Firearm Death Rates to Firearm Death Rates in Other High-Income Countries, by Age and by Gender, 2003

Total Under 5 Age 5-14 Age 15-24 (Ages 0 to 65+)

Gun homicide rate 7.8 13.4 42.7 19.5Gun suicide rate — 8.0 8.8 5.8Unintentional gun death — 10.6 11.6 5.5Undetermined gun death 0.5 4.5 2.0 0.8Firearm death rates 6.8 10.6 17.3 7.5

MalesGun homicide rate 5.7 20.3 46.7 22.0Gun suicide rate — 7.9 8.7 5.3Unintentional gun death — 9.9 10.8 5.2Undetermined gun death 0.7 4.5 2.1 0.7Firearm death rates 5.7 11.7 17.6 7.2

FemalesGun homicide rate 15.3 7.3 23.6 11.6Gun suicide rate — 8.3 9.5 14.4Unintentional gun death — — 30.4 12.0Undetermined gun death — — 1.4 1.2Firearm death rates 10.2 7.8 14.2 11.5

41 Richardson, Erin G., and David Hemenway. 2010. “Homicide, Suicide, and Unintentional Firearm Fatality: Comparing the United StatesWith Other High-Income Countries, 2003,” Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection, and Critical Care (70)1: 238-243.http://journals.lww.com/jtrauma/Abstract/2011/01000/Homicide,_Suicide,_and_Unintentional_Firearm.35.aspx

42 Graduate Institute of International Studies. 2007. “Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.” (Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress, 2007). http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2007/en/full/Small-Arms-Survey-2007-Chapter-02-EN.pdf(accessed November 2011).

43 Ibid.

Source: Richardson, Erin G., and David Hemenway. 2010. “Homicide, Suicide, and Unintentional Firearm Fatality: Comparing the United States With Other High-Income Countries, 2003,” Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection, and Critical Care.

International Gun Comparison


The U.S. has the highest gun homicide rate of 34 industrialized countries – 30 times higher thanAustralia, France or the United Kingdom.

Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2011. “Global Study on Homicide.” Table “Homicidedata series to be used for trends analyses.” http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html(accessed January 2012).

*Chart includes the latest data available for each country.

Firearm Homicide Rates in Industrialized Countries*

Firearm Homicide U.S. Firearm Rate per 100,000 Homicide

Population Rate was:

United States 3.0

Switzerland 0.8 3.8 times higher than Switzerland

Turkey 0.8 3.8 times higher than Turkey

Belgium 0.7 4.3 times higher than Belgium

Italy 0.7 4.3 times higher than Italy

Luxembourg 0.6 5 times higher than Luxembourg

Canada 0.5 6 times higher than Canada

Ireland 0.5 6 times higher than Ireland

Finland 0.4 7.5 times higher than Finland

Portugal 0.4 7.5 times higher than Portugal

Sweden 0.4 7.5 times higher than Sweden

Denmark 0.3 10 times higher than Denmark

Greece 0.3 10 times higher than Greece

Netherlands 0.3 10 times higher than the Netherlands

Austria 0.2 15 times higher than Austria

Czech Republic 0.2 15 times higher than Czech Republic

Estonia 0.2 15 times higher than Estonia

Germany 0.2 15 times higher than Germany

Lithuania 0.2 15 times higher than Lithuania

New Zealand 0.2 15 times higher than New Zealand

Slovakia 0.2 15 times higher than Slovakia

Spain 0.2 15 times higher than Spain

Australia 0.1 30 times higher than Australia

France 0.1 30 times higher than France

Hungary 0.1 30 times higher than Hungary

Israel 0.1 30 times higher than Israel

Norway 0.1 30 times higher than Norway

Poland 0.1 30 times higher than Poland

Slovenia 0.1 30 times higher than Slovenia

United Kingdom (England & Wales) 0.1 30 times higher than the U.K.

Iceland 0.0

Hong Kong, China 0.0

Japan 0.0

Republic of Korea 0.0


Debunking the Myths About Guns

Myth 1: Gun deaths and injuries are mostly an urban problem.

The Truth: While the majority of teen gun homicides occur in large urban areas, rural and urban childrenand teens are equally likely to die from gun injuries.44 Rural children and teens are more likely to be victimsof suicide or accidental shootings; urban children and teens are more likely to be homicide victims.

Myth 2: Gun deaths mostly occur in the course of other criminal activity.

The Truth: In 2008, just over one in four gun homicides with known circumstances was the result of a felony where the victim was killed while being raped or robbed or in the course of another seriousoffense. The vast majority of gun homicides were the result of some other situation that turned deadly,presumably because a gun was present.45 As the list of selected incidents of gun violence in this reportdemonstrates, the terrible truth is that there is no place to hide from gun violence in a society thatallows easy access to guns.

Myth 3: Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.

The Truth: Anti-gun-control advocates wrongly argue that it is the deadly intent of the people wielding thegun, not the weapons, that results in deadly violence. Yet research demonstrates that the presence of agun intensifies a violent event and increases the likelihood that someone will die. For example, a ground-breaking and often replicated study of criminal attacks in Chicago by University of California at Berkeleylaw professor Frank Zimring found that the circumstances of gun and knife assaults were very similar:Incidents typically were unplanned and did not involve a clear intention to kill. Having a gun on hand,however, made it more likely that the incident would end with a fatality. No one would dispute that gunsare potentially dangerous. The federal government regulates many products deemed to be potentially dangerous, such as cars. Automobiles are subject to a host of federal health and safety standards to protectdrivers and the general public, but no federal safety standards are applied to guns. It is reasonable torequire that safety measures be imposed on gun owners, such as passing a background check showingfitness to own a gun, obtaining a license, and registering the gun.

Myth 4: Guns are already sufficiently regulated – we just need to enforce the laws on the books.

The Truth: The reality is that there are very few federal gun regulations on the books and Congress has notpursued significant gun control legislation in nearly two decades despite an annual rate of gun violencethat surpasses other industrialized nations. During that same time period nearly 500,000 children andadults have been killed by guns. The U.S. has an estimated 283 million guns in civilian hands, theequivalent of nine guns for every 10 people in America46—the highest rate of gun ownership in theworld.47 That is more than the 254 million cars, trucks and motorcycles registered in 2009.48 The resultof so many guns and weak federal and state guns regulations is an unacceptably and disproportionatelyhigh rate of gun deaths. Gun death rates in America are more than seven times higher than they are inthe other high-income countries.49 Although current gun regulations impose restrictions on purchases byteenagers, convicted felons, and people with a history of severe mental illness, they contain loopholesthat limit overall effectiveness. For instance, the Brady Act requires licensed gun dealers to conductbackground checks on all purchasers but exempts private sellers.


Myth 5: Gun laws are not effective in reducing gun violence and only punish law-abiding citizens.

The Truth: According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center forInjury Prevention and Control, states with higher rates of gun ownership and weak gun control laws havethe highest rates of gun deaths.50 The opposite was also true: States with strong gun laws and low gunownership rates had significantly lower rates of gun deaths. While sensible gun laws may impose a smallburden on law abiding citizens they also confer a significant benefit in the form of saved lives. Everyonebenefits from fewer gun deaths and increased public safety.

Myth 6: Voting for sensible gun laws creates an impossible dilemma for politicians.

The Truth: Most Americans favor sensible gun laws that will help keep them and their children safe. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence conducted a study after the 2008 elections and concluded that candidates who openly support sensible gun laws can win elections.51 A comparison of Congressional and state election outcomes backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) candidates and candidates endorsed by the Brady Campaign found that the Brady-backed candidates won over 90 percent of the time. These election outcomes are consistent with public opinion:

n 87 percent of Americans indicate they support criminal background checks on private sales ofguns, including sales at gun shows.52

n 83 percent of gun owners53 and 69 percent of NRA members54 support criminal backgroundchecks on all purchasers at gun shows.

n 79 percent of Americans, including 63 percent of gun owners, support a policy requiring apolice permit before the purchase of a gun.55

n 79 percent of Americans support requiring gun owners to register their guns with the localgovernment.56

44 Michael Nance, et al. 2010. “Variation in Pediatric and Adolescent Firearm Mortality Rates in Rural and Urban U.S. Counties.”Pediatrics, 125(6): 1112-17. http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2009-3219 .

45 Federal Bureau of Investigation. “2008 Crime in the United States,” Expanded Homicide Data, Table 11: Murder Circumstancesby Weapon, 2008. U.S. Department of Justice.http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/offenses/expanded_information/data/shrtable_11.html (accessed July 2011).

46 L. Hepburn, M. Miller, D. Azrael, and D. Hemenway. 2007. “The U. S. Gun Stock: Results from the 2004 National FirearmsSurvey.” Injury Prevention 13: 15-19. http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/13/1/15.full (accessed July 2010).

47 Graduate Institute of International Studies. 2007. “Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.”http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2007/en/full/Small-Arms-Survey-2007-Chapter-02-EN.pdf (accessed July 2011).

48 Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2012. National Transportation Statistics, Table 1-11. http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_11.html .

49 Richardson, Erin G., and David Hemenway. 2010. “Homicide, Suicide, and Unintentional Firearm Fatality: Comparing the UnitedStates With Other High-Income Countries, 2003,” Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection, and Critical Care.

50 Violence Policy Center. 2011. “States with Higher Gun Ownership and Weak Gun Laws Lead Nation in Gun Death.”http://vpc.org/press/1110gundeath.htm (accessed January 16, 2012).

51 Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. 2008. “Guns and the 2008 Elections: Common Sense Gun Laws Won, the NRA Lostand What it Means.” http://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pdf/reports/guns-2008election.pdf .

52 Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and The Tarrance Group. 2008. “Americans Support Common Sense Measures to Cut Downon Illegal Guns.” http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/downloads/pdf/polling_memo.pdf .

53 Ibid.54 Mayors Against Illegal Guns. 2009. “Gun Owners: NRA Gun-Owners and Non-NRA Gun-Owners.” http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/ downloads/pdf/luntz_poll_questionnaire_and_responses.pdf .

55 Tom W. Smith. 2007. “Public Attitudes Towards the Regulation of Firearms.” Chicago, IL: National Opinion Research Center,University of Chicago.

56 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll, “Guns.” June 4-5, 2008, available at: http://www.pollingreport.com/guns.htm


Boston TenPoint Coalition: An ecumenical group of Christian clergy and lay leaders working to mobilizethe Boston community around issues affecting Black and Latino youth to end violence. http://bostontenpoint.org , (617) 524-4331

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: An affiliate of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence thatworks to create an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in their communities. It works to pass and enforce sensible federal and state gun laws,regulations and public policies. http://www.bradycampaign.org

Campaign to Close the Gun Show Loophole: A coalition of individuals who advocate for legislativechanges to close gun show loopholes to prevent felons, criminals, terrorists, gang members and otherdangerous individuals from purchasing guns without background checks. http://campaigntoclosethegunshowloophole.org

Coalition to Stop Gun Violence: A coalition, with 48 national organizational members, that seeks to secure freedom from gun violence through research, strategic engagement and effective policy advocacy. http://www.csgv.org , (202) 408-0061

Legal Community Against Violence: A public interest law center dedicated to providing legal assistancein support of gun violence at the state and local level, and which provides free legal assistance to advocates, other community leaders, government officials and law enforcement seeking legislative and regulatory solutions to gun violence. http://www.lcav.org , (415) 433-2062

Mayors Against Illegal Guns: A coalition of more than 600 mayors from large and small cities acrossthe county, co-chaired by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City and Mayor Thomas M. Meninoof Boston, with the goal of protecting their residents, especially children, from harm by stopping thethreat of illegal guns and preventing criminals from getting guns illegally. http://www.mayorsagainstillegaguns.org

States United to Prevent Gun Violence: An organization representing gun violence prevention groups in24 states that is focused on reducing gun violence in states across the country. http://supgv.org , (617) 923-6490

Violence Policy Center: A national organization working to stop gun deaths and injury though research,advocacy, education, and collaboration, and which maintains a Concealed Carry Killers on-line resource that tracks incidents involving private citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns.http://www.vpc.org , (202) 822-8200

Selected Organizations Working to Prevent Gun Violence


Appendix

Table 1: Firearm Deaths of Children and Teens, by Race/Hispanic Origin, 1979–2009 ...........................................................36

Table 2: Firearm Deaths of Children and Teens, by Age, 1979–2009 ........................... 37

Table 3: Firearm Deaths of Children and Teens, by Manner, 1979–2009...................... 38

Table 4: Homicide Firearm Death Rates for Males per 100,000, by Race/Hispanic Origin and Age, 1999-2009 .............................................. 39

Table 5: Homicide Firearm Death Rates for Females per 100,000,by Race/Hispanic Origin and Age, 1999-2009 .............................................. 40

Table 6: Suicide Firearm Death Rates for Males per 100,000, by Race/Hispanic Origin and Age, 1999-2009 .............................................. 41

Table 7: Suicide Firearm Death Rates for Females per 100,000, by Race/Hispanic Origin and Age, 1999-2009 .............................................. 42

Table 8: Firearm Injuries, by Manner and Age Group, 2001-2009 ............................... 43

Table 9: Firearm Injuries, by Manner and Race/Hispanic Origin, by Number and Rate per 100,000, 2001-2009 ........................................................................... 44











AmericanIndian, Asian,Alaska Pacific

Total Black White Native* Islander* Hispanic**

1979 3,710 929 2,700 — — —

1980 3,749 944 2,739 — — —

1981 3,589 944 2,569 49 27

1982 3,332 811 2,450 55 23 —

1983 2,962 739 2,155 42 25 —

1984 3,030 716 2,238 44 32 —

1985 3,169 850 2,241 42 36 —

1986 3,349 938 2,337 43 31 —

1987 3,400 1,117 2,199 28 54 —

1988 3,974 1,458 2,405 76 53 —

1989 4,384 1,694 2,563 50 76 —

1990 4,935 2,047 2,753 47 87 748

1991 5,329 2,297 2,878 60 91 883

1992 5,353 2,359 2,834 55 105 924

1993 5,715 2,600 2,925 51 139 977

1994 5,793 2,559 3,024 75 135 993

1995 5,254 2,153 2,898 73 130 1,005

1996 4,613 1,976 2,475 64 98 817

1997 4,205 1,687 2,357 59 102 748

1998 3,761 1,416 2,197 60 88 661

1999 3,365 1,301 1,934 57 73 605

2000 3,012 1,149 1,762 44 57 568

2001 2,911 1,128 1,695 49 39 518

2002 2,867 1,112 1,639 52 64 581

2003 2,827 1,172 1,554 50 51 553

2004 2,825 1,149 1,568 57 51 574

2005 3,006 1,271 1,624 51 60 614

2006 3,184 1,441 1,618 48 77 678

2007 3,042 1,499 1,460 40 43 611

2008 2,947 1,371 1,488 46 42 563

2009 2,793 1,211 1,515 40 27 566

Total 116,385 44,038 68,794 1,507 1,916 14,187

* Data for American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander not available for 1979-1980.

** Persons of Hispanic origin can be of any race. Hispanic data not available prior to 1990. For 1990 to 1996, a small number ofstates with small Hispanic populations did not include Hispanic identifiers in their reporting to the federal government.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1979-1999. “CDC Wonder.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Accessed using the Compressed Mortality database. http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortSQL.html . (accessed December 2004). Calculationsby the Children’s Defense Fund; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2000-2009. “Fatal Injury Reports.” U.S. Departmentof Health and Human Services. Accessed using the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS).http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal_injury_reports.html . Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.

Table 1: Firearm Deaths of Children and Teens, by Race/Hispanic Origin,1979–2009


Table 2: Firearm Deaths of Children and Teens, by Age, 1979–2009

Ages Ages AgesUnder 5 5–9 10–14 15–19 Under 20

1979 109 157 447 2,997 3,710

1980 106 131 435 3,077 3,749

1981 115 123 438 2,913 3,589

1982 114 142 402 2,674 3,332

1983 83 108 379 2,392 2,962

1984 103 124 469 2,334 3,030

1985 104 120 470 2,475 3,169

1986 93 110 453 2,693 3,349

1987 85 126 484 2,705 3,400

1988 101 124 523 3,226 3,974

1989 121 138 555 3,570 4,384

1990 103 121 560 4,151 4,935

1991 105 94 613 4,517 5,329

1992 117 111 665 4,460 5,353

1993 116 141 700 4,758 5,715

1994 107 105 657 4,924 5,793

1995 105 107 640 4,402 5,254

1996 88 95 509 3,921 4,613

1997 84 107 438 3,576 4,205

1998 83 96 430 3,152 3,761

1999 73 80 335 2,877 3,365

2000 59 70 304 2,579 3,012

2001 81 79 254 2,497 2,911

2002 71 71 274 2,451 2,867

2003 56 63 259 2,449 2,827

2004 58 61 239 2,467 2,825

2005 69 62 273 2,602 3,006

2006 63 80 265 2,776 3,184

2007 85 69 243 2,645 3,042

2008 88 60 228 2,571 2,947

2009 85 66 203 2,439 2,793

Total 2,830 3,141 13,144 97,270 116,385

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1979-1999. “CDC Wonder.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Accessed using the Compressed Mortality database. http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortSQL.html . (accessed December 2004). Calculations bythe Children’s Defense Fund; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2000-2009. “Fatal Injury Reports.” U.S. Department of Healthand Human Services. Accessed using the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS).http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal_injury_reports.html . Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.


Table 3: Firearm Deaths of Children and Teens, by Manner, 1979–2009

Total* Homicide* Suicide Accident Unknown

1979 3,710 1,651 1,220 726 113

1980 3,749 1,743 1,214 689 103

1981 3,589 1,660 1,213 604 112

1982 3,332 1,498 1,207 550 77

1983 2,962 1,238 1,150 504 70

1984 3,030 1,289 1,114 552 75

1985 3,169 1,322 1,256 519 72

1986 3,349 1,513 1,293 472 71

1987 3,400 1,573 1,281 467 79

1988 3,974 1,953 1,387 543 91

1989 4,384 2,367 1,380 567 70

1990 4,935 2,852 1,476 541 66

1991 5,329 3,247 1,436 551 95

1992 5,353 3,336 1,426 501 90

1993 5,715 3,625 1,460 526 104

1994 5,793 3,579 1,565 512 137

1995 5,254 3,249 1,450 440 115

1996 4,613 2,836 1,309 376 92

1997 4,205 2,562 1,262 306 75

1998 3,761 2,184 1,241 262 74

1999 3,365 1,990 1,078 214 83

2000 3,012 1,776 1,007 193 36

2001 2,911 1,771 928 182 30

2002 2,867 1,830 828 167 42

2003 2,827 1,822 810 151 44

2004 2,825 1,804 846 143 32

2005 3,006 1,972 822 173 39

2006 3,184 2,225 763 154 42

2007 3,042 2,161 683 138 60

2008 2,947 2,037 748 123 39

2009 2,793 1,855 800 114 24

Total 116,385 66,520 35,653 11,960 2,252

* Total firearm deaths and homicide firearm deaths exclude firearm deaths by legal (police or corrections) intervention. There were18 legal intervention firearm deaths.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1979-1999. “CDC Wonder.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Accessed using the Compressed Mortality database. http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortSQL.html . (accessed December 2004). Calculationsby the Children’s Defense Fund; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2000-2009. “Fatal Injury Reports.” U.S. Departmentof Health and Human Services. Accessed using the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS).http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal_injury_reports.html . Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.


White MalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.23 0.24 0.81 6.94

2000 0.14 0.27 0.72 6.46

2001 0.28 0.35 0.60 6.13

2002 0.27 0.23 0.55 6.69

2003 0.11 0.13 0.57 6.34

2004 0.07 0.14 0.63 6.24

2005 0.21 0.20 0.54 6.95

2006 0.17 0.23 0.82 7.15

2007 0.27 0.19 0.63 6.24

2008 0.23 0.20 0.56 6.28

2009 0.20 0.27 0.57 6.02

Black MalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.51 0.85 2.79 56.35

2000 0.76 0.34 2.78 51.66

2001 0.63 0.41 2.11 52.69

2002 0.69 0.36 2.69 48.36

2003 1.06 0.91 2.87 53.10

2004 0.74 0.62 2.88 49.65

2005 0.67 0.62 3.10 54.67

2006 0.79 0.68 3.69 60.51

2007 0.65 0.62 3.47 62.41

2008 0.92 0.49 3.13 55.39

2009 0.96 0.43 2.63 49.74

Hispanic MalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.27 0.34 2.14 22.86

2000 0.16 0.32 1.73 21.91

2001 0.40 0.21 1.11 19.83

2002 0.38 0.57 1.00 21.57

2003 0.27 0.10 1.07 20.44

2004 0.21 0.20 1.14 21.35

2005 0.20 0.20 1.33 23.48

2006 0.28 0.23 2.11 23.59

2007 0.30 0.13 1.58 19.82

2008 0.18 0.26 0.98 18.42

2009 0.25 0.20 1.15 18.11

Table 4: Homicide Firearm Death Rates for Males per 100,000by Race/Hispanic Origin and Age, 1999–2009


White FemalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.16 0.15 0.38 1.24

2000 0.15 0.22 0.20 1.11

2001 0.26 0.25 0.28 1.10

2002 0.20 0.23 0.31 1.20

2003 0.17 0.16 0.14 0.97

2004 0.10 0.20 0.16 1.18

2005 0.13 0.11 0.23 0.98

2006 0.13 0.28 0.30 1.12

2007 0.18 0.21 0.27 1.33

2008 0.21 0.16 0.32 1.08

2009 0.21 0.18 0.21 1.04

Black FemalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.79 0.47 0.81 7.05

2000 0.20 0.29 0.67 4.95

2001 0.65 0.30 0.47 3.88

2002 0.58 0.43 1.15 5.38

2003 0.52 0.50 1.14 3.97

2004 0.83 0.38 0.74 5.04

2005 0.25 0.39 1.05 4.40

2006 0.69 0.51 1.01 5.45

2007 0.86 0.38 1.03 5.00

2008 0.54 0.32 1.12 5.90

2009 0.64 0.63 0.57 4.78

Hispanic FemalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.11 0.29 0.54 2.57

2000 0.17 0.11 0.32 1.96

2001 0.41 0.06 0.37 2.11

2002 0.30 0.16 0.47 2.00

2003 0.19 0.21 0.28 1.96

2004 0.22 0.37 0.27 2.09

2005 0.09 0.15 0.27 1.60

2006 0.16 0.29 0.42 2.05

2007 0.24 0.14 0.36 2.02

2008 0.34 0.22 0.51 2.43

2009 0.07 0.26 0.20 1.85

Table 5: Homicide Firearm Death Rates for Females per 100,000by Race/Hispanic Origin and Age, 1999–2009


White MalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.00 0.00 0.88 8.86

2000 0.00 0.00 1.04 7.95

2001 0.00 0.00 0.69 7.57

2002 0.00 0.00 0.69 6.85

2003 0.00 0.01 0.65 6.83

2004 0.00 0.00 0.49 7.05

2005 0.00 0.00 0.79 6.56

2006 0.00 0.00 0.59 6.24

2007 0.00 0.00 0.45 5.43

2008 0.00 0.00 0.44 6.16

2009 0.00 0.00 0.63 6.62

Black MalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.00 0.00 0.24 6.96

2000 0.00 0.00 0.24 6.93

2001 0.00 0.00 0.57 5.01

2002 0.00 0.00 0.45 4.27

2003 0.00 0.00 0.28 3.91

2004 0.00 0.00 0.39 3.70

2005 0.00 0.00 0.28 4.28

2006 0.00 0.00 0.12 4.17

2007 0.00 0.00 0.47 4.20

2008 0.00 0.00 0.30 4.64

2009 0.00 0.00 0.18 3.39

Hispanic MalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.00 0.00 0.45 4.96

2000 0.00 0.00 0.43 4.62

2001 0.00 0.00 0.23 3.39

2002 0.00 0.00 0.28 4.71

2003 0.00 0.00 0.38 4.20

2004 0.00 0.00 0.10 4.97

2005 0.00 0.00 0.25 3.82

2006 0.00 0.00 0.25 4.06

2007 0.00 0.00 0.05 4.17

2008 0.00 0.00 0.10 3.30

2009 0.00 0.00 0.34 3.40

Table 6: Suicide Firearm Death Rates for Males per 100,000by Race/Hispanic Origin and Age, 1999–2009


White FemalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.00 0.00 0.29 1.21

2000 0.00 0.00 0.22 1.14

2001 0.00 0.00 0.19 1.11

2002 0.00 0.00 0.19 0.80

2003 0.00 0.00 0.11 0.88

2004 0.00 0.00 0.10 1.06

2005 0.00 0.00 0.13 0.89

2006 0.00 0.00 0.12 0.61

2007 0.00 0.00 0.09 0.63

2008 0.00 0.00 0.12 0.62

2009 0.00 0.00 0.15 0.87

Black FemalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.72

2000 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.52

2001 0.00 0.00 0.18 0.52

2002 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.58

2003 0.00 0.00 0.11 0.19

2004 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.74

2005 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.36

2006 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.46

2007 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.23

2008 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.28

2009 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.39

Hispanic FemalesUnder 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

1999 0.00 0.00 0.41 0.90

2000 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.67

2001 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.59

2002 0.00 0.00 0.29 0.45

2003 0.00 0.00 0.11 0.63

2004 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.55

2005 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.47

2006 0.00 0.00 0.16 0.23

2007 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.44

2008 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.21

2009 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.57

Table 7: Suicide Firearm Death Rates for Females per 100,000by Race/Hispanic Origin and Age, 1999–2009


TOTAL Under 5 Ages 5-9 Ages 10-14 Ages 15-19

2001 5,091 112 241 1,041 3,697

2002 4,136 55 34 735 3,312

2003 3,611 35 73 123 3,380

2004 3,950 43 124 968 2,815

2005 3,547 32 28 753 2,734

2006 3,087 41 146 682 2,219

2007 4,165 10 112 680 3,363

2008 3,998 124 127 482 3,265

2009 3,587* 111 30 228 3,218


2001 9,219 0 140 738 8,341

2002 8,344 44 93 373 7,834

2003 8,213 60 29 671 7,453

2004 9,356 10 165 1,033 8,148

2005 12,489 168 40 642 11,639

2006 14,010 41 142 1,325 12,501

2007 12,864 61 153 836 11,814

2008 16,187 114 242 688 15,143

2009 10,038 38 61 390 9,549


2001 185 0 0 110 75

2002 374 0 0 9 365

2003 60 0 0 0 60

2004 495 0 0 0 495

2005 46 0 0 0 46

2006 285 0 0 93 192

2007 494 0 0 0 494

2008 411 0 0 0 411

2009 165 0 0 0 165

*Total number of accidental firearm injuries is different than previously stated due to rounding.

Table 8: Firearm Injuries, by Manner and Age Group, 2001–2009

Accidental Firearm Injuries

Assault Firearm Injuries

Self-Harm Firearm Injuries

Note: Self-harm is defined as confirmed or suspected injury resulting from a deliberate violent act inflicted on oneself with theintent to take one's own life or with the intent to harm oneself. This category includes suicide attempts and other intentional self-harm.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2001-2009. “Nonfatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-based Injury StatisticsQuery and Reporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/nonfatal.html .Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.


Table 9: Firearm Injury Numbers and Rates per 100,000, by Manner and Race/Hispanic Origin, 2001–2009

Accidental Firearm InjuriesTOTAL Black White Hispanic

Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate

2001 5,091 6.3 1,279 9.7 1,956 3.9 413 3.0

2002 4,136 5.1 1,116 8.4 1,330 2.7 789 5.6

2003 3,611 4.4 1,610 12.1 1,199 2.4 488 3.4

2004 3,950 4.8 1,180 8.8 1,772 3.6 388 2.6

2005 3,547 4.3 972 7.2 1,182 2.4 356 2.3

2006 3,087 3.7 1,032 7.6 1,210 2.5 455 2.8

2007 4,165 5.0 1,217 8.9 1,061 2.2 434 2.6

2008 3,998 4.8 796 5.8 1,698 3.6 1,058 6.2

2009 3,588 4.3 1,255 9.0 1,597 3.4 351 2.0

TOTAL 31,585 10,457 13,005 4,732

Assault Firearm InjuriesTOTAL Black White Hispanic


2001 9,219 11.4 4,934 37.5 412 0.8 1,662 12.2

2002 8,344 10.3 5,066 38.3 486 1.0 1,350 9.6

2003 8,213 10.1 5,224 39.3 699 1.4 854 5.9

2004 9,356 11.4 5,490 41.1 941 1.9 1,165 7.8

2005 12,489 15.2 6,596 49.0 1,207 2.5 1,862 12.0

2006 14,010 17.0 7,890 58.2 1,539 3.2 2,186 13.7

2007 12,864 15.5 5,374 39.3 1,509 3.2 1,472 8.9

2008 16,187 19.5 7,624 55.2 2,103 4.4 3,935 23.1

2009 10,038 12.1 5,847 42.1 764 1.6 2,068 11.8

TOTAL 90,682 54,045 9,660 16,554

Self-Harm Firearm InjuriesTOTAL Black White Hispanic


2001 185 0.2 135 1.0 25 0.1 25 0.2

2002 374 0.5 23 0.2 207 0.4 113 0.8

2003 60 0.1 10 0.1 50 0.1 0 0.0

2004 495 0.6 23 0.2 418 0.9 22 0.1

2005 46 0.1 23 0.2 0 0.0 0 0.0

2006 285 0.3 0 0.0 177 0.4 23 0.1

2007 494 0.6 10 0.1 166 0.3 0 0.0

2008 411 0.5 21 0.2 284 0.6 106 0.6

2009 165 0.2 0 0.0 8 0.0 127 0.7

TOTAL 2,350 245 1,335 416

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2001-2009. “Nonfatal Injury Reports.” Accessed using the Web-based InjuryStatistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/nonfatal.html . Calculations by the Children’s Defense Fund.

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